Open Forum #9 Digital Technology Empowers Green and Low-carbon Development

Summary

This open forum focused on how digital technology can empower green and low-carbon development. Experts from various fields discussed the intersection of digitalization and environmental sustainability. The speakers emphasized that digital transformation should be people-centered and aimed at achieving sustainable development goals. They highlighted the need for coordinated efforts between digital and green transformations to address climate change and other environmental challenges.

Several key points emerged from the discussion. First, while digital technologies offer immense potential for sustainable development, they also have their own environmental footprint that needs to be managed. The lifecycle approach to assessing the environmental impact of digitalization was emphasized, covering production, use, and end-of-life stages. Second, the importance of capacity building, especially in developing countries, was stressed to ensure they can benefit from digital technologies while managing associated environmental costs.

Speakers also highlighted the role of education in promoting digital literacy and environmental awareness. Examples were shared of how AI and other digital technologies are being used in schools to foster understanding of low-carbon practices. The potential of AI in modeling clean energy transitions and improving climate models was also discussed.

The forum concluded with insights from industry representatives on practical applications of digital technologies in reducing energy consumption and promoting circular economy principles. Overall, the discussion underscored the need for collaborative efforts across sectors and countries to harness digital technologies for sustainable development while mitigating their environmental impacts.

Keypoints

Major discussion points:

– The importance of coordinating digital technology development with green/low-carbon goals

– The need for capacity building, education, and talent cultivation to support digital and green transformations

– The environmental impacts and footprint of digital technologies themselves

– The potential for AI and digital tech to model and support clean energy transitions

– Practical examples of using digital tech for sustainability in areas like education and data centers

Overall purpose:

The purpose of this forum was to explore how digital technologies, especially AI, can be leveraged to support green and low-carbon development goals. Speakers discussed both the opportunities and challenges of aligning digital and environmental agendas.

Tone:

The overall tone was optimistic and forward-looking, with speakers highlighting the potential for digital tech to drive sustainability. There was also a sense of urgency about addressing environmental challenges. The tone remained consistent throughout, with all speakers adopting a similar professional and solution-oriented approach to the topic.

Speakers

– Xue Lan: Senior Professor, Tsinghua University; Dean, Schwarzman College; Member of the Leadership Group, UN Internet Governance Forum (IGF)

– Long Kai: Deputy Director, Cyber Information Development Bureau, Cyberspace Administration of China

– Peng Gang: Vice President and Provost of Tsinghua University

– Gong Ke: Former President of the World Federation of Engineering Organizations; Executive Director of Chinese Institute for New Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Strategies

– Torbjorn Fredriksson: Director of the Office of ICT Policy at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD); Head of UNCTAD’s work on performance and digital economy

– Su Jun: Dean of the Intelligent Society Governance from Tsinghua University

– Dou Guimei: Principal of Tsinghua University Primary School; Co-director of the National Experiment Base of the Intelligent Society Governance

– Eduardo Araral: Former Vice Dean and Director at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore

– Zhou Chaonan: Chairperson of Range IDC; Vice-chairman of Henggang

Additional speakers:

– Fabio Fred Dixon

– Professor Salva

– Professor D’Souza

Digital Technology Empowering Green and Low-Carbon Development: A Comprehensive Forum Summary

This open forum brought together experts from academia, government, and international organisations to explore the intersection of digital technology and sustainable development. The discussion centred on how digital innovations, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), big data, and 5G, can be leveraged to support green and low-carbon initiatives while addressing the environmental challenges posed by digitalisation itself.

Key Themes and Agreements

1. Digital Technologies as Enablers of Sustainable Development

There was broad consensus among speakers that digital technologies have significant potential to accelerate the achievement of sustainable development goals. Torbjorn Fredriksson, Director at UNCTAD, emphasised this point, which was echoed by other participants including Gong Ke, Long Kai, and Eduardo Araral. They agreed that when properly implemented and coordinated with green initiatives, digital technologies can improve environmental outcomes.

Fredriksson highlighted the potential to accelerate sustainable development goals and introduced the Global Digital Compact, a UN initiative aimed at outlining shared principles for an open, free, and secure digital future for all. Gong Ke stressed the importance of a people-centred approach to digital technology, underscoring the complexity of balancing technological advancement with human and environmental needs.

2. Environmental Impacts of Digitalisation

Speakers acknowledged the significant environmental challenges posed by the digital sector. Fredriksson pointed out that the ICT sector generates substantial greenhouse gas emissions, with the production of digital devices requiring large amounts of raw materials. He emphasised the need for a lifecycle approach to understand the full environmental impact of digitalisation, highlighting the growing energy and water consumption of data centres, as well as the increasing problem of e-waste, particularly in developing countries.

Zhou Chaonan, representing the industry perspective, discussed innovative solutions to mitigate these impacts, particularly focusing on improving the energy efficiency of data centres through advanced cooling systems and reducing Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE). This partial agreement between Fredriksson and Zhou Chaonan illustrates the industry’s recognition of the problem and efforts to address it.

3. Strategies for Green Digital Development

Several strategies were proposed to align digital development with environmental sustainability:

a) Circular Digital Economy: Fredriksson emphasised the need to move towards a circular digital economy to reduce the environmental footprint of digital technologies. This approach involves designing products for longevity, reuse, and recycling, as well as implementing effective e-waste management systems.

b) Interdisciplinary Research and Education: Peng Gang, Vice President of Tsinghua University, stressed the importance of interdisciplinary research and education on AI and sustainability. This view was shared by Su Jun, who highlighted the need to study the social impacts of AI through large-scale experiments, introducing the AIC (Artificial Intelligence Social Impact Implementation) initiative.

c) AI in Education: Dou Guimei provided insights on using AI to create smart, low-carbon campuses and enhance environmental education. She discussed initiatives such as AI-powered energy management systems and personalised learning platforms that reduce resource consumption while improving educational outcomes.

d) Energy-Efficient Infrastructure: Zhou Chaonan discussed improving the energy efficiency of data centres, highlighting the industry’s role in sustainable digital development through innovations in cooling technologies and renewable energy integration.

e) AI for Clean Energy Transition: Eduardo Araral presented on the potential of AI for complex modelling of clean energy transitions, emphasising the need for advanced computational tools to optimise renewable energy systems and grid management.

4. Policy and Governance for Digital Sustainability

The discussion also touched upon the policy and governance aspects of aligning digital and green agendas:

a) National Initiatives: Long Kai highlighted China’s efforts to promote coordination between digitalisation and green transformation, including policy frameworks that encourage the integration of digital technologies in environmental protection and resource management.

b) International Cooperation: Speakers emphasised the need for global collaboration on technology, standards, and policy to address the challenges of sustainable digital development. This includes initiatives like the Global Digital Compact and efforts to align digital standards across countries.

c) Industry Support: Zhou Chaonan discussed the importance of establishing mechanisms to support the green upgrading of industries through digital technologies, emphasising the role of public-private partnerships in driving innovation.

Thought-Provoking Insights

Several comments stood out for their ability to frame the discussion in broader terms:

1. Gong Ke posed the fundamental question: “What is the overarched goal of the digitalisation?” This prompted participants to consider the purpose of digital transformation beyond technical implementation.

2. Fredriksson highlighted the complex challenge of balancing digitalisation’s environmental costs with its potential benefits, especially for developing countries. He stated, “We need to both help countries to deal with the costs of digitalisation in terms of the environment but we also need to continue to support countries that are far behind in order for them to be able to use digital technologies to address the environmental concerns.”

3. Su Jun cautioned against becoming “slavers of technology,” emphasising the need for human-centred AI development and the importance of large-scale social experiments to understand AI’s impacts.

4. Du Guimei brought the discussion to a practical level by considering AI’s impact on elementary education, broadening the scope to include everyday applications of digital technologies in creating sustainable learning environments.

Areas for Further Exploration

The forum identified several key areas requiring further investigation:

1. Utilising AI for complex modelling of clean energy transitions and optimising renewable energy systems

2. Further reducing the Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of data centres and exploring innovative cooling technologies

3. Improving integration of digital transformation and green development policies at national and international levels

4. Addressing the ‘double bind’ faced by developing countries regarding digitalisation and environmental costs

5. Transitioning towards a more circular digital economy, including improved e-waste management and product design for longevity

6. Strengthening interdisciplinary education in AI, digital technologies, and societal governance

7. Enhancing collaboration among stakeholders in digital and green development, including academia, industry, and government

8. Promoting global cooperation in technology communications, standards alignment, and financial integration for digital and green development

9. Expanding research on the social impacts of AI through initiatives like the AIC (Artificial Intelligence Social Impact Implementation)

10. Developing and implementing AI-powered solutions for smart, low-carbon campuses and educational institutions

Conclusion

The forum demonstrated a high level of consensus on the potential of digital technologies to support sustainable development and the need for coordinated approaches to digital and green transformations. While specific strategies and implementations varied among speakers, there was agreement on the general direction towards integrating digital and environmental agendas. The discussion underscored the growing recognition of the interconnectedness of digital and environmental issues, suggesting potential for more integrated policy approaches and research initiatives in the future. The emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration, global cooperation, and human-centred technology development provides a roadmap for future efforts in harnessing digital technologies for sustainable development.

Xue Lan: Yes, could you help me? Channel two, right? Can you help me? Okay. Ladies and gentlemen, good morning. Welcome to this open forum, Digital Technology Empowering Green and Low Carbon Development. My name is Fang Zhang. I’m an associate professor from the Institute of Intelligent Society Governance, Tsinghua University. It’s my honor to serve as a moderate for this forum today. First, on behalf of the organizers, I would like to extend warm welcome to our distinguished experts and the audience here or online. This forum focus on the critical intersection between the digital technology and green low carbon development. We are very honored to have nine speakers with us today. Seven of them will join on the site and two will join remotely. As you can see from the agenda, we have a very packed but exciting program ahead. To kick off the forum, please let me to invite Mr. Nong Kai, Deputy General Director of the Bureau of Information Technology, Development, Cyberspace Administration of China, to deliver the opening remarks. Welcome.

Long Kai: Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, good morning. Welcome to the 19th IGF Open Forum on Digital Technology in Power Screen and Low Carbon Development. It’s a great pleasure to meet all of you here in Riyadh. On behalf of the organizers, the Bureau of Digitalization Development, Cyberspace Administration of China, I would like to express our gratitude for your participation. I would also like to extend special thanks to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, this year’s host country of IGF, for their extraordinary work and dedication to the success of this forum. The Chinese government places great importance on the coordination between digitalization and green transformation, and it’s committed to promoting the empowerment of green and low carbon development through the adoption of digital technologies. President Xi Jinping emphasized the need to strengthen economic and technological cooperation, accelerate the coordination of digitalization and green transformation, and advance the upgrading of energy resources, industrial structures, and consumption patterns to foster green socio-economic development. The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China proposed that we will support enterprises in upgrading traditional industry via AI and green technologies. In July 2024, the Chinese government issued a policy document guidelines on accelerating the comprehensive green transformation of socio-ecological development, which further outlines the acceleration of coordination between digital transformation and green technology. Third, we will promote digital industry development by green transformation in the traditional industry. To achieve these goals, a set of initiatives have been implemented, including pilot projects in 10 cities in China. By so far, these efforts have gained significant progress and results, providing replicable and scalable examples. We believe that digitalization and green transformation are increasingly becoming notable trends in the global development. Practical evidence has shown that digital technologies can deeply integrate with a set of key sectors such as energy, power, industry, and technology. We believe that digitalization and green transformation can deeply integrate with a set of key sectors such as energy, power, industry, and technology. Such as energy, power, industry, transportation, and constructions in carbon reduction. This integration effectively enhances the efficiency of energy and resource utilization, playing a pivotal role in the green transformation of traditional industry. From a global perspective, this coordination has become a key driving force of sustainable global growth. On this occasion, I would like to share a few insights. To start with, innovation andEuropean development. We are pushing for international collaboration in technology innovation, research, and application. The strengthening of strategic researches and enterprises’ technology strategy and the strengthening of the company’s status as a technology innovation core encourage the application of technological achievements and keep pace with new industries, new patterns, and new urges. First, innovation drives development. We need to foster technological innovation and application and coordination between digitalization and green technology. This includes strengthening fundamental research and the deployment of cutting-edge technologies, enhancing the role of enterprises as the primary driver of technological innovation, promoting the commercialization of technology, and continuously nurturing new industries and business models. We need to focus on data centers, communication stations, electronic information products, manufacturing, and use, accelerating the development of energy-saving and carbon-reducing technologies, and promoting the green development of the digital industry. Particular focus should be placed on the development and promotion of energy-saving and carbon-reducing technologies in a set of areas such as data centers, communication-based stations, and the manufacturing of electronic products to facilitate the green and low-carbon development of the digital industry. Third, how to promote development? Digital technology can provide networkization, digitalization, and smartness for the green development of the economic society, and promote the overall energy consumption and carbon emissions of society. Second, integration leads to development. Digital technologies can provide networked, digitized, and intelligent tools for green transformation, contributing to reduce overall energy consumption and carbon emissions. Efforts should be made to accelerate the fusion of digitalization and green transformation, driving the deep integration of emerging technologies such as Internet, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, and 5G with green and low-carbon industries. This will enable the green transformation of key sectors such as industry, energy, construction, and transportation, shifting industrial structures from high-carbon to low-carbon and from low-end to high-end. Third, open public development. Digitalization and green transformation are common opportunities for the development of countries around the world. We must continue to deepen and expand the field of bilateral coordination, multilateral dialogue and cooperation, strengthen the field of bilateral coordination, technical rules, standardization, promote policy communication, technology exchange, project cooperation, and talent training. Third, openness makes development mutually beneficial. Digitalization and green transformation are shared opportunities for countries all over the world. We should further deepen and expand the lateral and multilateral dialogue and cooperation in this field. This includes strengthening the formulation of technical rules and standards, promoting policy coordination, technological communication, project collaboration, and talent training. We hope this will become a key element in efforts to advance the shared future of humanity. Ladies and gentlemen, friends, Today’s forum has built a good platform for exchange with Sino-China Cooperation. Famous professors, experts, scholars, and business representatives from all over the world have come together. I hope we can deepen exchanges, strengthen cooperation, and develop together to discuss the best practice for future bilateral cooperation, to build a beautiful earth, and to share a green future. Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends, Today’s forum provides an excellent platform for discussion on the coordination between digitalization and green development, gathering professors, experts, scholars, and industrial representatives from around the world. Let’s further deepen communication, strengthen cooperation, and provide better insights into the best practices in this field, contributing to a shared green future and a beautiful earth. Finally, I wish this forum great success. Thank you all.

Xue Lan: Thank you, Director Nongkai, for your insightful remarks. Now let me invite Professor Peng Gang, Vice President and Provost of Tsinghua University, to deliver opening remarks. Please welcome. Welcome. Distinguished guests and esteemed guests from all over the world, good morning. First of all, on behalf of Tsinghua University, as the organizer of this open forum,

Peng Gang: I would like to extend my warmest welcome to all of you. It’s a great pleasure to meet all of you here on the 19th IGF. This forum provides us a great chance to have a discussion on leveraging digital technology for green and low-carbon development, a crucial topic for today’s world. On behalf of Tsinghua University, the co-organizer of this open forum, I want to extend my warmest welcome and sincere gratitude to all the experts and guests here. The green and low-carbon development in this digital era is a focusing topic of global governments in today’s world. Chinese President Xi Jinping has emphasized that green and low-carbon transformation is a key to high-quality development. The green and low-carbon development in this digital era is a focusing topic of global governments in today’s world. Chinese President Xi Jinping has emphasized that green and low-carbon transformation is a key to high-quality development. In July 2024, the Chinese government issued guidelines on accelerating the comprehensive green transformation of socio-economic development, In July 2024, the Chinese government issued guidelines on accelerating the comprehensive green transformation of socio-economic development, advocating for deep integration of digitalization and green development to drive this transition. The convergence of these strategies greatly promote sustainable growth in China and global countries. The convergence of these strategies greatly promote sustainable growth in China and global countries. The university has played an important role in the digitalization process of green and low-carbon development. In recent years, Tsinghua University has focused on the cross-disciplinary exploration of digital technology and green and low-carbon development. Universities, as hubs of innovation and leadership in sorts, should play a vital role in advancing this agenda. At Tsinghua University, we have prioritized interdisciplinary research at the intersections of digital technology and green development. Tsinghua University is not only one of the first universities in China to carry out artificial intelligence teaching and research, but also established several research institutes such as the Carbon Energy Laboratory and the Carbon Integrated Research Institute in recent years, and established solid technologies for the research of related cross-disciplinary courses. As one of China’s pioneers in AI research and education, we have also established institutions such as Low-Carbon Energy Lab and Institute for Carbon Neutrality, laying a solid foundation for such interdisciplinary exploration. At the same time, we also pay great attention to the social issues behind digital technology applications. In 2019, we established the Institute for Intelligent Social Governance, and studied a series of issues on the basic theory and policy of intelligent society, such as the deep study of digital technology and green and low-carbon development. Over the past five years, the Institute has achieved a series of significant achievements in the field of digital technology, and has contributed to the global smart society governance. In the meantime, we also recognize the societal challenges faced by digital technology. In 2019, we established the Institute for Intelligent Society Governance, focusing on fundamental theories and policy issues related to digital technologies and low-carbon development. Over the past five years, the Institute has made significant contributions to global intelligent governance through research and policy insights. With the strong support of China’s National Internet Information Office, Tsinghua University has hosted the opening seminar on digital technology and green and low-carbon development. We have invited experts from the United Nations, China, Singapore, Australia, and many other countries and international organizations. We hope to use this opportunity to further address the issues of digital technology and green and low-carbon development, and build a high-level international dialogue and exchange balance. With the guidance from the Cyberspace Administration of China, we are proud to host this forum, bringing together experts from the United Nations, China, Singapore, Australia, and other nations and global organizations. This forum aims to foster high-level dialogue and collaboration. With the guidance from the Cyberspace Administration of China, we are proud to host this forum, bringing together experts from the United Nations, China, Singapore, Australia, and other nations and global organizations. This forum aims to foster high-level dialogue and collaboration, generating fresh ideas and advancing global practice in digitalized green development. Regarding this issue, I would like to share three key thoughts with all of you. First, we should pay more attention to the cultivation of young talents. To achieve this goal, we should strengthen interdisciplinary education in AI, which is the most important part of the digital economy. Second, we should support the development of high-quality human resources. Third, we should support the development of high-quality human resources. To achieve this goal, we should strengthen interdisciplinary education in AI, bring technologies and societal governance to cultivate outstanding talents with technical expertise and societal awareness. Second, we should further enhance collaboration among stakeholders. Second, we should further enhance collaboration among stakeholders. In the coming years, we will deepen partnerships among governments, industries, academia, and research institutions to address fundamental and practical challenges, driving innovation and application. Third, we should promote global cooperation, Third, we should promote global cooperation, Third, we should promote global cooperation, with focuses on advancing international collaboration in technology communications, standards alignment, and financial integration. We can further make the welfare brought by technological evolution more inclusive. I wish this forum great success. Thank you. I wish this forum great success. Thank you.

Xue Lan: Thank you, President Pongda, for your inspiring speech. Now let’s turn to our distinguished panel of experts to share their insights on the theme today. Our first speaker is Professor Gong Ke, former President of the World Federation of Engineering Organizations and also Executive Director of Chinese Institute for New Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Strategies. Professor Gong, the floor is yours.

Gong Ke: Thank you. Thank you so much. So, may I have my slides? So, today I’m going to discuss with you two questions. First, here is an internet governance forum. We talk about internet, we talk about digital technology, we talk about artificial intelligence. So, the first question is, what is the overarched goal of the digitalization? What is the overarched goal? What is the digitalization we want? So, the second question is, how to achieve these goals? So, first, now today the world is in the course of… two transitions, transformations. First, it’s the digitalization. Let’s say, because the digital technology is a technology, generative, revolutionary, general purpose technology, they change our world, change our life in a profound way. But what is the problem for this? This transition should not be a technology-centered transition, be a people-centered transition. However, the biggest problem facing to the humanity on the earth and how to sustain the human life on the earth. So here is the 17 global sustainable goals that are common goals for the humanity. It’s a common task for all country. So the core issue of these goals is to balance the increasing of the human wellbeing and decreasing the national cost. So these goals are about human wellbeings and these goals are about the national cost. And these goals are linked to the human wellbeing and the national cost. So that’s a core issue of the sustainability of the earth. This picture from IPCC shows you since the industrial revolution in the 19th century, the average earth surface temperature is increasing. It’s increasing. However, if we move out of human activities, industrialization and so on and so forth, we have to see this change of the temperature of the earth’s surface. That means that in the average level as it’s at a worse millions of years. So the key issue is to save the conditions of the earth for the humanity. And that is the goal of the digital transition. That’s the goal of digital transition. That’s a human centered digitalization. So this is not my personal opinion. That’s a consensus of United Nations, the member states, 196 member states. Here I see the newly adopted global digital compact by the United Nations two months ago. And the first sentence of this global compact is digital technology are dramatically transforming our world. They offer immense potential benefits for the wellbeing and advancement of people and societies. And for our planet, they hold us the finest of accelerate achievement of the sustained goals. Sustainable development goals is the goals of the digitalization. And there’s some objectives. The first object, no. No. No. Anyway, the first objective of the global digital compact is to achieve, to accelerate the achievement of the sustainable. Next page, please help me. Next page. Can you go to the next page? Okay. So, however, we have the goal of the digitalization. The question is how to achieve this goal. In the narrative, as mentioned by Dr. Long, it’s a coordinated transformation of digital and green transformation. But to coordinate transformation, we need a coordinated capacity. We have to turn these digitalization to turn these technical key technologies, 17, I named 17 of them, and the 17 sustained development goals, and to turn this into so-called digital coordinated digital capacity and sustainability capacity. Only with this, we can achieve all those. Capacity building, as mentioned by Provost Pong, education, the key to achieve our goals. So, finally, because of the limitation of the time, I just conclude my presentation in three words. Understanding the digital and green transformation, and settings as redevelopment as a goal of digitalization, reaching a building capacity for the digital transformation.

Xue Lan: Thank you so much. I stop here. Thank you, Professor Gong, for your brilliant presentation. Next, I’m delighted to invite Mr. Fabio Fred Dixon, Director of the Office of ICT Policy at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, UNCTADS. He’s also the head of UNCTADS’ work on performance and digital economy. Welcome, Fabio.

Torbjorn Fredriksson: Thank you very much, Madam Moderator. And let me start by expressing my appreciation to the China Cyberspace Affairs Administration and to Tsinghua University for allowing UNCTADS to contribute to this very important dialogue on the shift to low carbon and a more digital economy and society. I’m delighted to welcome Mr. Fred Dixon to share his thoughts on this topic. Low carbon and a more digital economy and society. I’d like to share with you some findings from our recent report, the Digital Economy Report 2024. And I will seek to be very brief, but I hope that participants can also get access to the presentation afterwards. And let me see if I can get to the next slide. Yes, thank you. So the digital technologies are rapidly transforming our economy as you know, as has been said already. This is creating a much faster and much more powerful interaction between people and machines in the digital space. But at the same time, we know that we have big digital divides. Many countries are far behind in taking advantage of these digital opportunities. In addition, we have the parallel development of planetary boundaries being breached, including from climate change. But in many other areas as well. So from that perspective, it is very important to ensure that the development of the ICT sector of the digital technologies is also environmentally sustainable. In fact, we can see already that the ICT sector is generating a greenhouse gas emissions of a similar magnitude as the aviation or international shipping industry. China is of course very important in this context because China is a giant in the context of the digital economy. And we have just a few examples here on this slide showing the tremendous progress that China has made in digitalization and is now a very important force for the globe in terms of digitalization. In the report, we take a lifecycle approach to exploring the environmental footprint of digitalization. We have been talking so far a lot about how digital technologies can help with environmental concerns, but we also need to recognize that digitalization in itself is generating an environmental footprint. So we’re looking in the report at the production stage, at the use stage and at the end of life stage of the lifecycle. And we’re looking at the direct effects in terms of natural resource depletion, energy use, water use, greenhouse gas emissions and pollution and some others. If we start with the production phase, we often think about digitalization as being something virtual, something happening in the cloud. But the reality is that it has a very heavy material footprint. For example, to produce one laptop weighing around two kilos requires the extraction of 800 kilograms of raw material resources. We also see that the devices that we’re using in the digital economy are becoming more complex. For instance, when we produced telephones about 50 years ago, we needed 10 of the elements included in the periodic table. By 1990, we used 27 such elements. And now when we produce smartphones of various kinds, we use 63 of the elements in the periodic table. That is more than half of all the known elements on earth. The same minerals that we use when we produce the digital technology are also the same that we use to provide a more low carbon environment. So that means that these two transitions that we are witnessing towards a low carbon economy and towards a more digital economy is generating tremendous demands for metals and minerals. For example, the demand for cobalt, graphite, and lithium is expected to increase by 500% until 2050. At the use phase, I’m just zeroing in here on the data centers because as we shift increasingly to computing intensive technologies like artificial intelligence, the virtual reality, crypto mining, and so on and so forth, this is generating a tremendous increase in the need for electricity and water that are used by data centers. And the big… data center operators, they can no longer keep their greenhouse gas emissions stable or reduce them because of the growing demand for energy and electricity. This is having a strong impact both at the local level where the data centers are located and of course if it generates more greenhouse gas emissions it will also have global implications. The third phase is about how we deal with the waste from digitalization and here we have seen a growing amount of waste being generated over the past decade or so in an increase by more than 30 percent and we can see that most of the waste per capita is generating the most advanced economies, the most digitally ready economies. Unfortunately a lot of the waste that is generated is not collected properly, not collected formally and therefore also not managed formally and at the global level only one quarter of all the digitalization related waste is currently collected formally. In China that share is around 16 percent and in Africa it’s only one percent so we have a long way to go to improve that situation and one of the problems is that many developing countries lack proper legislation to organize the formal collection of waste and especially here digitalization related waste. An overall recommendation of the report is that we need globally to move more towards a circular digital economy. The production of digital products currently is very linear and that increases the need for raw materials and it reduces our ability to extract valuable materials from the digital devices and servers and so on that come to the end of life. So this is an area where there’s a huge potential for improvement and this is something that requires a collective effort across stakeholders and across countries. We are also in need to address what we call the double bind of developing countries. You can see that currently most developing countries have to bear a high share of the cost of digitalization from an environmental perspective but many are not very successful in benefiting from these digital opportunities so we need to both help countries to deal with the costs of digitalization in terms of the environment but we also need to continue to support countries that are far behind in order for them to be able to use digital technologies to address the environmental concerns. Finally let me say that in order for us to make progress here we need to work collectively as the previous speaker was saying we have come to an agreement at the global level to work together to build the global digital compact. We need to better integrate what we do in the digital space and what we do in the environmental space and we need to strengthen the capabilities of the poorer countries to be able to develop the right policy responses in this area and also to benefit more from digitalization. I will end that and I will just direct you to the report for those who are interested in learning more about this and I thank you again for allowing me to participate in this session. Thank you very much.

Xue Lan: Thank you very much Mr. Fred Dixon for your wonderful presentation. Now let me welcome Professor Xu Jun, the Dean of the Intelligent Society Governance from Tsinghua University. Welcome, the floor is yours Professor Xu. Thank you very much. Dear ladies and gentlemen, dear Professor Gong Ke, Mr. Wang Jianchao, Mr. Long Kai,

Su Jun: dear Professor Hun Gang and Ms. Zhou Taonan, dear friends. First of all, it’s my great honor to impress my warm welcome to all of you. Thank you for coming. Nowadays, information technology, especially AI, is being widely deployed, bringing significant improvement in productivity and allowing people to enjoy tremendous benefit. A brand new age, intelligent society is coming. But as the English novelist Charles Dickens said, it was the best of times, it was the worst of times. AI also brings unpredictable risks and challenges. To focus on these risks and challenges, Tsinghua University established a platform research institute, ISG, the Institute of Intelligent Society Governance in 2019. The ISG focused on interdisciplinary research on AI social impact and its mission is to create a humanity-intensive society. Since 2021, to investigate the social impact of AI, Chinese government launched a nationwide initiative called AIC, which stands for Artificial Intelligent Social Impact Implement. There are 92 experiment base was established and more than 2,000 scenarios were set with about 30,000 people involved. To my knowledge, this initiative is the largest scale social experiment on AI application worldwide. According to our research, intelligent society has five key characteristics, including information reach, instant feedback, reshaping of cognitions, deconstruction of recognization, voice of the volunteers. We also studied some concepts such as information, token, group, polarizations, opinion, meaning, pollutions, platform, power, energy consumption, online gaming, and digital labor. All these concepts have been studied in my new book, which was released yesterday morning. We have found that it is a significant challenge to enable low-carbon development through digital technology. While consuming energy, AI also has huge potential to reduce energy consumption, promoting low-carbon development across society, especially in traditional high-energy consumption sectors, such as power system, transportation system, heavy industry, and construction business. For example, in Eidos, a western city in China which is famous for its energy industry, we have examined how AI facilitated the transportation of energy industry. Our research showed that the coordinated transformation of digital and green development can reduce energy consumption and promote low-carbon development. Ladies and gentlemen, the history of human society is the history of science and technology development. Intelligent society is an amazing age. AI is one of our greatest inventions in our history. But in the future, people must not and shall not become slavers of technology. Albert Einstein, the greatest scientist, once remarked, concern for man himself and his fate must always find the chief interest of all technical endeavors. Overcoming these challenges is a tough work. As highlighted in a UN report recently, governing AI for humanity, it is not technological change itself, but how humanity responds to it that automatically matters. Today, we gather together to show our hope and ambition for the future. Let’s work together to make sure that all nations, all people over the world, all people over the world can benefit from the coordinated transformation of digital and green development, and to build a human-centered, humanity-intensive society. We shall do it, and we must do it. Thank you.

Xue Lan: Thank you, Professor Su, for your insightful presentation. Now, let me welcome Ms. Dou Guimei, principal of Tsinghua University Primary School and also co-director of the National Experiment Base of the Intelligent Society Governance. Ms. Dou, the floor is yours. Thank you.

Du Guimei: distinguished guests and friends from around the world. I’m the principal from Tsinghua University Primary School. I would like to start from a passage from the UN 52 years ago entitled We Only Have One Earth. This is a typical case for topic-based learning practice in my class advocated for low-carbon lifestyle in the community. Finally, we expanded to the proposal for the health school. I think that topic-based learning practice is about coming out of the classroom and apply what you learn to daily practice. I’ve been working on topic-based learning for the past 30 years. After years of exploration, this practice has won the most important prize in China’s fundamental education. So, topic-based learning is the beginning of academic research to come out of the classroom and strengthen the practice. We feel that the Chinese people emphasize cultural confidence and talk about cultural heritage and culture. In this way, in the course of our research over the years, my team and I have been studying topic-based learning, which is similar to today’s concept education, to cultivate students’ core qualities. So, in the course of our research over the years, we have also won the highest honor award for the first-ever national educational achievement. Over the past 10 years, I have led a team to form the theoretical and practical results of topic-based learning. On November 1 this year, it was officially released and became a national achievement. I’ve been working on topic-based learning for the past 30 years. After years of exploration, this practice has won the most important prize in China’s fundamental education. And we still pay close attention to serializing the framework for topic-based teaching and collect a set of works. All these works were finally published on November 1 and recognized by the nation. Entering the age of intelligence, we are trying to use the method of topic-based teaching to incorporate the core values of digital education and ecological civilization into the education philosophy of Tsinghua High School, the central school of children’s standing, and to combine it with China’s ancient Japanese culture and the meaning of proximity to time. Then, through the four mechanisms of value co-creation, mutual respect, mutual incentive, digital resilience, we are trying to improve and further optimize the quality of the campus in all aspects. Now, I can take the methodology of topic-based teaching practice to digital literacy and environmental awareness education and integrate them into our philosophy of let students be the core of the school. By incorporating traditional culture elements into our classroom, we try to promote environmental education from our four main channels, namely value co-creation, class integration, compatible incentives, and digital empowerment. Taking AI-powered low-carbon campus as a case for topic-based learning, we have established four main scenarios. Scenario one, low-carbon intelligent platform. This is our zero-carbon Google campus. Scenario two, low-carbon smart platform. This is our low-carbon high-tech platform. Scenario three, low-carbon high-tech cloud. This is our high-tech cloud-based cloud platform. Scenario four, low-carbon smart cloud. This is our zero-carbon booth that monitors temperature, humidity, wind, 5MPF, wind power, and PV output. This allows us to dynamically access the school’s environmental status and become the learning material for children. Scenario two, low-carbon education. In the campus, we are setting up a solar panel. Students can use digital technology to assist students in ecological research and improve the cultivation of biodiversity. Students can use infrared cameras to observe wildlife in the protection of natural resources. This is also an important part of their learning. The scenario two is low-carbon education application. In our campus, we have installed a lot of solar flowers. We also leverage intelligent technologies for students’ ecological explorations. During the exploration, they use in-frame cameras, telephoto lenses, and AI image recognition to classify wildlife and gain firsthand experiences. Scenario three is low-carbon interaction space, carbon cycle science and technology experience. In the school, we use sand to simulate the ocean, rivers, cities, forests, oil fields, farms, farms, volcanoes, and sky scenes. The elements in the corresponding scene will move in this way to improve the students’ basic cultivation and cultivation of environmental balance. Scenario three is low-carbon interactive spaces. We also implement several carbon cycle experiences focusing on simulation in ecosystems like oceans, cities, and forests, bringing environmental science to life. Scenario four is sports in the smart playground. In the school, we have added AI rope skipping, AI 50-meter running, sunbathing, fun integrated machine, and dance. The children have accumulated data in this part and developed a tree-growing tree that is made into a sunroof. The tree continues to grow into a forest in the class’s collective activities, and we can see the students’ growth. Scenario four is intelligent physical education. We further add some intelligent applications to traditional EE education like AI-assisted running among a lot of sports activities. We also develop an intelligent system for students to keep track of their progress in physical education. So in the age of AI, how to deal with the full growth of elementary school students’ lives and the harmony of getting along with us in this era. So when we held the opening ceremony, I also brought this petition today. I think this should be a basic consensus for all citizens of the world. Finally, on behalf of all students at Tsinghua University Primary School, I would like to share the Low-Carbon Campus Initiative for a sustainable future with global friends. So finally, where are the children? Where is the AI-enabled low-carbon campus education? Let’s work together. Thank you. In short, we believe that where children are, where AI-encouraged low-carbon campus is. Let’s work together. Thank you.

Xue Lan: Thank you for such a wonderful speech on the role of education in AI and low-carbon development. Thank you again, Mr. Do. Next, I would like to invite Professor Edward Arrawa, former Vice Dean and Director at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, to deliver the speech. Welcome, Professor Arrawa. Please share your slides. Can you hear me? Yes. Wonderful.

Eduardo Araral: Thank you, Professor Fang and to colleagues at Tsinghua University for this invitation. I am honored to speak to you today on the topic of Modeling Clean Energy Transition Using AI, which is the current project of my interest. AI can help improve climate models, as the recent Economist magazine has reported. Artificial intelligence is helping improve climate models, improve prediction accuracy, improve policymaking, reduce computational cost, and to scale regional and global patterns. But my focus is not on climate prediction, but on how can we use AI to help us create better models for energy transition. So I created a model on clean energy transition. In this model, you have the… the dependent variable, clean energy adoption as a function of policies, infrastructure, fossil fuel risks, and other variables. I’m still working on this paper, but basically the idea is how to use AI to do a complex modeling of this clean energy transition. The idea here is that this energy transition depends on so many factors, and governments, and donors, and UN agencies should be able to pay attention to these variables. So one important factor to monitor is the policy support for clean energy transition, the readiness of national infrastructure in terms of the grids, storage, and offshore facilities, the fossil fuel risks, such as the volatility, supply, security, geopolitical risks, and the risk of declining investments in fossil fuel. Then, of course, you have the issue of availability of financing for clean energy, especially for developing countries. Then you have the issue of the grid, electrical grid. Are they ready to be integrated, especially for renewable energy like solar, wind? Then you need to look at market maturity. What is the level of competition and openness in the energy market? Then you have to factor in social acceptance. Do the people accept clean energy? Then you have to look at carbon pricing regulations, carbon taxes, and emissions limits, nationally determined contributions. You have to include that in the model as well. Then you have to also look at, including the model, the rate of technological innovation, such as advancements in solar panel, wind technology, the efficiency and storage of batteries, as well as developments in nuclear modular reactors. Then you also have to look at energy demand, which is a function of economic growth, and then the demand for clean energy over time. And so what I’m trying to say is that those of you who are interested in the audience to collaborate with me on this project, how can we use AI to do a complex modeling of this clean energy transition, you can get in touch with me. That’s all I wanted to say. Again, thank you to Professor Phan for this kind invitation. Thank you. Excuse me, thank you, Professor Irani. Next, I would like to invite Professor Salva from Kansas School of Business and Curriculum at the University of Texas. Thank you. And hopefully, the more outflow you have and the less inflow, the more efficient you will be. I will not go into this, but we have modeled all of this and the role of cognitive computing technologies to help you get more efficient and use lower energy. So give you just a couple of examples. We have used digital twins to be able to analyze what are the inefficiencies in moving capital from one place to another, okay? In terms of moving capital, because if you can model how capital moves, then you can increase the efficiency and use lower energy. Another way is you can actually understand what is inhibiting the movement of capital. So here, you have two different images where you just strategically relocating and using information technologies, you can increase capital intensity. Here is an example of how AI is being used to regenerate capital so that you are recycling, and it goes back to the comments made earlier about circular economy. And just one more, here is where you can map using cognitive computing technologies where your capital needs to be upgraded or maintained before it loses complete value. So how do you do that? I’m happy to share more examples of these projects we are doing across the globe. And with that, thank you very much. Thank you.

Xue Lan: Thank you, Professor D’Souza. Now, let’s welcome our last speaker, Ms. Zhou Chaonan, the chairman person of Range IDC, the last but not the least.

Zhou Chaonan: The floor is yours. Ms. Zhou Chaonan, the chairman person of Range IDC, the chairman person of Range IDC, the vice-chairman of Henggang, the chairman person of Gongke, and the guests from all over the world, good morning, everyone. I’m very honored to participate in this open forum on digital technology assistance, green low-carbon development. I’m from the Chinese Renzhe Group. It’s a high-tech enterprise that provides scale-up, green, and smart sourcing resources for the artificial intelligence industry. Here, I’d like to share a few points with you on the practical and thought-provoking development of smart technology-assisted low-carbon green. Distinguished guests and dear friends from around the world, good morning. It’s a great honor to participate in this open forum on digital technology empowering green and low-carbon development. I’m from Range Group, a high-tech enterprise dedicated to providing large-scale, green, and intelligent computing power resources for the AI industry. Today, I would like to briefly share some of our practices and thoughts on how digital technology contributes to green and low-carbon development. President Xi Jinping stressed that green low-carbon development mechanisms should be strengthened to support enterprises to use digital technology, green technology to transform and upgrade traditional industries. It can be said that the double-edged sword of digital technology and green technology has become an important issue in the transformation of today’s society. Chinese President Xi Jinping has emphasized the importance of establishing mechanisms for green and low-carbon development and supporting enterprises in upgrading traditional industries with digital and green technologies. Indeed, the integration of digital and green technologies has become a vital topic in the transformation of modern society. Since the establishment of Range Group, we have been committed to the mission of industrialization and have been committed to providing green, sustainable, and smart infrastructure for the transformation of modern society. After 15 years of development, we have deployed seven intelligent computing industry members in the seven smart industrial areas, including Changshan, Yuegang, Dawan, Chengqing, Hailan, and Gansu, to contribute to the smart transformation of all industries. Since its inception, Range Group has adhered to the mission of serving the nation through industry, and is committed to providing green and sustainable computing infrastructure to support the nation’s societies in China and global nations. Over the past 15 years, we have established seven intelligent computing industry parks in China, including Hebei Province, Pinghu in Yangtze River Delta, Foshan and Huizhou in Guangdong, Chongqing, Hainan Free Trade Port, and Lanzhou in Gansu, contributing to the intelligent transformation of a set of industries. We need to pay more attention to the decoupling technology under the existing structure. China’s data centers, green energy, and national standards for energy and power use efficiency are constantly improving. The PURE value has gradually dropped from 1.6 to 1.3. We have been working on this at the frontline for a long time, and have been working hard to explore the PURE value in public and private sectors, and to further reduce the PURE value in the population. Through our continuous efforts, our data centers have been able to solve systems such as low-carb, full-fat, and smart systems through modular and integrated devices and smart operations to achieve a PURE value of around 1.15. If we use the most advanced near-freezing mode, the PURE value can be further reduced to 1.09. The power usage effectiveness PURE of data centers in line with national green energy standards has been continuously improving from 1.6 to 1.3 in the past several years as the explorers in the frontier of the industry. We have been keeping on exploring whether there is still any gap to further reduce the PURE. Through years of effort, we developed a self-designed intelligent low-carbon cooling system for data centers which optimize energy efficiency through modular design, integrated equipment, and intelligent operations. This innovation has reduced PURE to approximately 1.15 and thanks to the commercial liquid cooling methods, it can reach as low as 1.09. This project has incurred significant demonstration impact, earning us recognition as a national green data center from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other government agencies. In the future, we believe that green development will be the ultimate trend for intelligent society and our efforts will yield more profound socio-economic impacts. We have established the Intelligent Society Research Institute in cooperation with Tsinghua University to better utilize Tsinghua University’s multi-disciplinary research and the technical and practical advantages of Runze Group to support the development of digital green system. In addition, we have jointly launched a series of forward-looking standardized and systematic work in the field of intelligent society transformation related to standardization and other issues related to multilateral conferences to further communicate our experience and results with our friends. In the meantime, we aim to address deeper institutional challenges behind digital technology’s role in green and low-carbon development. To this end, we have co-established a joint institute on intelligent society research with Tsinghua University, hoping to better leverage both Tsinghua University’s multi-disciplinary strengths and Runze Group’s technical and practical expertise. We have initiated several forward-looking projects focusing on the coordination between digital and green development, standards for intelligent society, among other important issues. In the future, we look forward to sharing our insights on important global platforms like IGF and engaging with you all on these crucial issues. Thank you. Thank you.

Xue Lan: Thank you. Let us work together to contribute to the great cause of empowering green and low-carbon development through digital technology. We have two minutes with all of you. Turn on the voice of this video. Please switch to Channel 1. Channel 1. Channel 1. Okay. A wonderful speech and also the video. And I want to take the last chance to thank you all, our distinguished experts and also audience for your patience. We really run out of time, but I think we also had a wonderful discussion today. I hope we will keep in touch and keep our passion on this important issue in our era. In the end, I would like to claim that we are closing our events today. So please keep in touch. We will see you next year. Thank you.

Agreement Points

Digital technologies can contribute to sustainable development

Torbjorn Fredriksson

Gong Ke

Long Kai

Eduardo Araral

Digital technologies can accelerate achievement of sustainable development goals

Digital technology must be people-centered and aimed at sustainability

Digital and green transformations need to be coordinated for sustainable growth

AI and digital technologies can improve climate models and energy transition planning

Multiple speakers emphasized the potential of digital technologies to support sustainable development goals and improve environmental outcomes when properly implemented and coordinated with green initiatives.

Environmental impacts of digitalization need to be addressed

Torbjorn Fredriksson

Zhou Chaonan

ICT sector generates significant greenhouse gas emissions

Production of digital devices requires large amounts of raw materials

Data centers consume increasing amounts of energy and water

Improving energy efficiency of data centers through innovative cooling systems

Speakers acknowledged the environmental challenges posed by the digital sector, particularly in terms of emissions and resource consumption, and discussed the need for innovative solutions to mitigate these impacts.

Similar Viewpoints

Both speakers highlighted China’s efforts to integrate digital technologies with green development initiatives, emphasizing the government’s role in promoting this coordination for sustainable growth and industrial upgrading.

Long Kai

Zhou Chaonan

China is promoting coordination of digitalization and green transformation

Establishing mechanisms to support green upgrading of industries with digital tech

Both speakers emphasized the need for comprehensive, interdisciplinary research on the implications of AI and digital technologies, particularly in relation to sustainability and social impacts.

Peng Gang

Su Jun

Importance of interdisciplinary research and education on AI and sustainability

Importance of studying social impacts of AI through large-scale experiments

Unexpected Consensus

Integration of AI and sustainability in education

Peng Gang

Dou Guimei

Importance of interdisciplinary research and education on AI and sustainability

Using AI to create smart, low-carbon campuses and education

While most discussions focused on broader policy or technological aspects, these speakers unexpectedly converged on the importance of integrating AI and sustainability concepts directly into educational settings, from university research to primary school campuses.

Overall Assessment

Summary

The main areas of agreement centered around the potential of digital technologies to support sustainable development, the need to address the environmental impacts of digitalization, and the importance of coordinating digital and green transformations. There was also consensus on the need for interdisciplinary research and education in these areas.

Consensus level

The level of consensus among the speakers was relatively high, particularly on the overarching themes of leveraging digital technologies for sustainability and the need for coordinated approaches. This consensus suggests a growing recognition of the interconnectedness of digital and environmental issues, which could potentially lead to more integrated policy approaches and research initiatives in the future. However, the specific strategies and implementations varied among speakers, indicating that while there is agreement on the general direction, there is still room for diverse approaches in addressing these challenges.

Different Viewpoints

Focus of digital technology implementation

Torbjorn Fredriksson

Gong Ke

Digital technologies can accelerate achievement of sustainable development goals

Digital technology must be people-centered and aimed at sustainability

While both speakers emphasize the importance of digital technology for sustainability, Fredriksson focuses on its potential to accelerate sustainable development goals, while Gong Ke stresses the need for a people-centered approach.

Unexpected Differences

Overall Assessment

summary

The main areas of disagreement revolve around the specific focus and implementation strategies for digital technology in sustainable development.

difference_level

The level of disagreement among the speakers is relatively low. Most speakers agree on the importance of digital technology for sustainable development but differ in their emphasis on specific aspects or approaches. This suggests a general consensus on the overall direction, which is positive for advancing the topic of digital technology empowering green and low-carbon development.

Partial Agreements

Both speakers acknowledge the energy consumption issue of data centers, but while Fredriksson highlights the problem, Zhou Chaonan focuses on solutions through innovative cooling systems.

Torbjorn Fredriksson

Zhou Chaonan

Data centers consume increasing amounts of energy and water

Improving energy efficiency of data centers through innovative cooling systems

Similar Viewpoints

Both speakers highlighted China’s efforts to integrate digital technologies with green development initiatives, emphasizing the government’s role in promoting this coordination for sustainable growth and industrial upgrading.

Long Kai

Zhou Chaonan

China is promoting coordination of digitalization and green transformation

Establishing mechanisms to support green upgrading of industries with digital tech

Both speakers emphasized the need for comprehensive, interdisciplinary research on the implications of AI and digital technologies, particularly in relation to sustainability and social impacts.

Peng Gang

Su Jun

Importance of interdisciplinary research and education on AI and sustainability

Importance of studying social impacts of AI through large-scale experiments

Key Takeaways

Resolutions and Action Items

Unresolved Issues

Suggested Compromises

So the first question is, what is the overarched goal of the digitalization? What is the overarched goal? What is the digitalization we want?

speaker

Gong Ke

reason

This question frames the entire discussion by pushing participants to consider the fundamental purpose of digitalization, rather than just its technical aspects.

impact

It set the tone for subsequent speakers to address not just how to implement digital technologies, but why and to what end, particularly in relation to sustainability goals.

We need to both help countries to deal with the costs of digitalization in terms of the environment but we also need to continue to support countries that are far behind in order for them to be able to use digital technologies to address the environmental concerns.

speaker

Torbjorn Fredriksson

reason

This comment highlights the complex challenge of balancing digitalization’s environmental costs with its potential benefits, especially for developing countries.

impact

It broadened the discussion to include global equity concerns and the need for a nuanced approach to digital development that considers both environmental and economic factors.

AI is one of our greatest inventions in our history. But in the future, people must not and shall not become slavers of technology.

speaker

Su Jun

reason

This statement encapsulates both the promise and potential pitfalls of AI, emphasizing the need for human-centered development.

impact

It shifted the conversation towards the ethical implications of AI and digital technologies, prompting consideration of how to ensure technology serves humanity rather than the reverse.

So in the age of AI, how to deal with the full growth of elementary school students’ lives and the harmony of getting along with us in this era.

speaker

Dou Guimei

reason

This comment brings the discussion to a practical, grassroots level by considering how AI impacts education and child development.

impact

It introduced a new perspective on the application of AI and digital technologies in everyday life, particularly in education, broadening the scope of the discussion beyond high-level policy considerations.

Overall Assessment

These key comments shaped the discussion by expanding its scope from technical implementation to broader considerations of purpose, global equity, ethics, and practical applications in areas like education. They encouraged a more holistic view of digitalization and its impacts on society, environment, and human development. The discussion evolved from focusing solely on how to implement digital technologies to critically examining why and for whom these technologies should be developed, emphasizing the need for a human-centered, sustainable approach to digital transformation.

How can we use AI to do complex modeling of clean energy transition?

speaker

Eduardo Araral

explanation

This is important to better understand and predict the factors influencing clean energy adoption, which could inform policy decisions and strategies for accelerating the transition.

How can we further reduce the Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of data centers?

speaker

Zhou Chaonan

explanation

Continuing to improve energy efficiency in data centers is crucial for reducing the environmental impact of digital infrastructure as demand for computing power grows.

How can we better integrate digital transformation and green development policies?

speaker

Torbjorn Fredriksson

explanation

Improved policy integration is necessary to ensure that digitalization supports rather than hinders environmental sustainability goals.

How can we address the ‘double bind’ faced by developing countries in terms of digitalization and environmental costs?

speaker

Torbjorn Fredriksson

explanation

This is important to ensure that developing countries can both benefit from digital opportunities and manage the environmental impacts of digitalization.

How can we move towards a more circular digital economy?

speaker

Torbjorn Fredriksson

explanation

Transitioning to a circular model is crucial for reducing the environmental footprint of digital technologies, particularly in terms of resource extraction and e-waste management.

How can we strengthen interdisciplinary education in AI, digital technologies, and societal governance?

speaker

Peng Gang

explanation

This is important for cultivating talents who can address the complex challenges at the intersection of digital technology and sustainable development.

How can we enhance collaboration among stakeholders (governments, industries, academia, and research institutions) to address challenges in digital and green development?

speaker

Peng Gang

explanation

Improved collaboration is necessary to drive innovation and practical applications in sustainable digital development.

How can we promote global cooperation in technology communications, standards alignment, and financial integration for digital and green development?

speaker

Peng Gang

explanation

International cooperation is crucial for ensuring that the benefits of digital and green technologies are inclusive and globally distributed.